THE Park Hall Hotel at Chorley, Lancashire, has a lot more to offer than your average place to stay. Where else could you shake hands with Sean Connery and be entertained by Tom Jones, having spent a day in the company of a wizard and the knights of the Round Table?

If you stay at Park Hall you get to enjoy the usual facilities of a hotel but with the added bonus of a theme park, nightclub, pub and health spa in the grounds.

Visitors to the hotel can buy special packages giving free entry to the medieval World of Camelot (which is also open to the public) and the Vitalia health and fitness club.

The park is a maze of more than 100 rides (all with a mythical theme), amusements and shows with enough to keep a family entertained for a couple of days. There are gentler rides for younger children and timid adults, as well as some real white-knuckle attractions for braver visitors.

The great thing about Camelot's attractions is that, apart from two driving rides, they are all free once you have paid your entry fee. This means, with unlimited access during opening hours (including the option to leave and return later) it is much cheaper than Blackpool's Pleasure Beach with almost all of the stomach-churning excitement.

But the rides are just one small part of Camelot's magical attraction.

Throughout the day you can watch superbly-staged jousting contests, comic jugglers and a magic show performed by Merlin himself.

Elsewhere there is a city farm where youngsters can pet and feed the animals (watch out for the very hungry goats) and a magic maze.

And the fun doesn't end when you leave the theme park. Back at the hotel you can relax in the spa, work out in the gym or splash about with your children in the pool.

All the rooms have Playstation consoles and are big enough for the whole family to stay together (which also means you can take advantage of special cut-price deals).

For an extra special trip, book into the Cadbury chocolate-themed room or arrange your trip to coincide with one of the frequent medieval banquets or cabaret nights.

A James Bond evening launched the Christmas season of entertainment nights and left guests both shaken and stirred. Sean Connery (or a very convincing lookalike) wandered among the tables and happily posed for photos with swooning women and star-struck blokes.

After the meal came the cabaret - three Stars in the Eyes singers giving impressive performances as Shirley Bassey, Tina Turner and Tom Jones.

Everyone was on their feet as the stars belted out their classic hits with performances so impressive you forgot you weren't watching the real thing.

The evening was rounded off with a disco providing something for party animals of every generation.

The cabaret nights are a real draw for hen and stag parties and as long as you are willing to let your hair down and have a laugh you will have a great evening for just over £30 a head.

The attractions at Camelot and the Park Hall Hotel may not be as famous as Blackpool but that doesn't mean they should be ignored. If you have children who love Harry Potter and still believe in fairies, then make the effort to travel just a little further from home to reach the conjurer's' paradise which is Camelot. A fantastical trip that, magically, won't break the bank

TRAVELFACTS

For information about the Park Hall Hotel and Camelot call (01257) 455000 or log onto www.parkhall-hotel.co.uk and www.camelotthemepark.co.uk

Entry to Camelot (without staying at the hotel) is £14 per person or £47 for a family of four. Children under one metre tall get in free.

Leisure break offers (including free entry to theme park and spa) are available. Up to two children under 16 can stay free with breakfast if sharing parents room. £10 charge per day for additional children